Painting away the winter blues in Norwalk CT 06854 Have the winter blues set in yet?  I know for me, as soon as the temperature drops below about 75 degrees, I’m ready for hibernation.  This year, in particular, I seem to be suffering from an early case of winter doldrums and it hasn’t even snowed yet!  Having just come back from spending 10 days in beautiful Southern California doesn’t help this Northeasterner adapt well to the gray, wet, gloomy surroundings here in Norwalk CT.  And with the days so short, my house feels so dark! Anyone with me? A major house renovation isn’t going to happen in my house anytime soon.  The best I can hope for is replacing my laundry room walls that had to come down when we flooded during Hurricane Irene! (and will need painting!) But there is potential ... 01/23/2012

Link’s to School Rankings & Statistics. Because of the legislation of the Fair Housing Act a real estate agent cannot legally share school information because it can be perceived as steering buyers to a certain neighborhood. The government want to make sure that home purchase decisions are based on the property’s fair value and to stop agents from steering clients toward or away from certain neighborhoods. The Fair Housing Act  prohibits real estate agents from discussing household income, schools, religious makeup of a neighborhood along with race, color, religion, ethnicity, disabilities and familial status. There are many good websites to help you find out school rankings, size of class, enrollment, student to teacher ratios, test scoring and more. Here are three websites that I have... 01/20/2012

Norwalk CT December 2011 Market Report of Sales   Norwalk Ct Market Report December 2011 Even Norwalk CT on the coast was affected by the storms this year.  It was so difficult to see real estate during and after Hurricane Irene and the huge snow storm in October that the sales were way down all over Fairfield County for November and December.  We should see an increase in sales in January and February, as lives go back to normal. December 2011 recap Total home sales for the month: 30Average days on the market: 134Low value: $ 38,000High value: $ 808,000Average sold price: $ 410,585Median price: $ 411,500Average list price: $ 434,890Pending sales: 35 01/14/2012

CONNECTICUT LOCAL BUILDING SUPPLIER SPONSORS EDUCATION EVENT ON NEW BUILDING CODES & TECHNOLOGIES.   Local building supply company Rings End in Darien, Connecticut sponsors all day education event for builders and architects on new building technologies, materials, building codes and Energy Star version 3. The event was called “If Walls Could Talk”, there were built wall models on display along with 6 seminars and two Q&A sessions were part of the all-day activities along with Vendor displaying building materials. If you missed the January 12th event in Norwalk, Ct then there is a second event on February 1st, 2012 in Westbrook, Ct. If Walls Could Talk…..If you missed the January 12th Ring’s End Seminar you do have a chance Feb 1st, 2012 to see it again, highly recommended ~ here are so... 01/13/2012

Norwalk, Connecticut is a growing town that experienced an increase in single family homes sold in 2011! Great news... In 2011, there were 442 single family homes sold in the town.  The average list price was $608,221 with a average sales price of $571,947.  Days on market was 118. The price range of homes the most affordable and desirable of the buying public were those priced below $600,000.  A great time for the first-time homebuyer to find their dream home. If you were not able to make a home purchase in 2011, not to worry, there are currently 338 single family homes on the market. More than half of the inventory is priced below the 1/2 million dollar price tag. The least expensive home is a 4 bedroom/ 1 bathroom foreclosure located in South Norwalk also known as SONO. The property ... 01/10/2012

Tenth-Annual "Festival of Lighthouses" Display at the Maritime  I thought it would be a worthwhile event to share the news around on....   Maritime Aquarium, 10 N Water St, Norwalk, CT, $12     This holiday season, walk a trail illuminated by 24 lighthouses—creatively built using everything from stone, gingerbread, toilet paper tubes and sugar cubes from France – in the 10th annual “Festival of Lighthouses” at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.   From Nov. 19 through Jan. 16, 2012, Aquarium visitors can follow these homemade beacons through the galleries and then cast a vote for their favorite.  The lighthouse with the most votes wins $1,500.   You may wander through the display free with Aquarium admission.     This is a must see event!  "Entries in the display this year include a light... 12/21/2011

November Sales 2011 Market Report for Norwalk, CT Depending on where you were located this fall in Fairfield County, your home real estate sales would have been affected by the storms we had - Hurricane Irene in late August, and the other storm of the end of October basically disabled the real estate market in many towns.   There were so many trees down, and such damage everywhere, that buyers stopped looking, and sellers were removing their homes from the marketplace until clean up could be completed.   Even Norwalk was affected somewhat, even though it is more of a "city" than a small town with a lot of trees. Total home sales for the month: 38   Average days on the market: 145   Low value: $ 100,000   High value: $ 999,000   Average sold price: $ 316,718   Median price: $ 310,000   A... 12/21/2011

Norwalk CT Market Report October 2011 Sales The real estate market for October in Norwalk CT  has been fairly steady in its sales for the past four years, excepting one spike in sales in 2009.   October 2011 recap: Total home sales for the month: 49 Average Days on the Market: 139 Low value of $100,000 for a Victorian. High value of $940,000 for a farmhouse. Average sold price of $358,846. Median price of $341,000. Average list price was $382,657. Actual purchase price was an average of 6.3% off of the list price.   49 Norwalk homes have been sold in the past month:           6 homes sold under $500,000 
                             43 homes sold for between $500,000-$1M
                            0 homes sold for under $1M - $1.5M           0 homes sold for under $1.5M - $2M          ... 11/27/2011

Listing Agents Should Be More Proactive in Today’s Markets ~ Multiple offers. One of the top agents in our Real Estate Company says that with these economic times listing agents need to be more proactive and not just reactive agents. Being a buyer’s agent have you ever put in an offer to another agent and the response is “We already have another offer that is higher” and then telephone silence.  That selling agent could be losing thousands of dollars by not properly responding and getting a higher offer for their client. As a selling agent if you have multiple offers you should do your best to get the highest and best offer for your seller. Yes it requires more calls, e-mails and time between you, your seller and the buyer’s agent but you need to do your best for your client and that wi... 11/23/2011

Join us for our November Networking Event! for Professional Women on Monday November 21. This is a wonderful group of talented entreprenerial women who support each other.  If you want to meet and network with the best women in Connecticut, this is the place to go. Topic: Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Healthy Bottom Line! Guest Speaker: Mindy Kannon Nov 21st6 - 8:30pmNorwalk Inn 99 East Ave Norwal It takes a lot of energy to run a business. Do your batteries sometimes run low? Your good health is an important business asset. In this competitive business world you need to have optimal energy and good health to grow your business. Join Mindy Kannon, Digestive Health Coach and Personal Chef , as she leads a spirited conversation about the top ten things you can do to improve your health and ... 11/15/2011

Under Contract - 66 Walter Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06851 What a fabulous home - 3 bedrooms, with the master on the first floor, two full baths, a wonderful 3 season room just off of the kitchen, and a perfect fenced backyard for barbequeing or just playing! This beautiful home is located just around the corner from the best shopping, the schools, downtown, and yet is located in a wonderful neighborhood.  LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! Dagny Eason | Dagny's Real Estate LLC | (203) 858-4853 66 Walter Avenue, Norwalk, CT Beautiful 3 Bedroom Spacious Cape in sought after area 3BR/1+1BA Single Family House offered at $335,000 Year Built 1950 Sq Footage 1,360 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 1 full, 1 partial Floors 2 Parking 1 Car garage Lot Size 0.15 acres HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION Spacious 3 bedro... 11/04/2011

One Finds The Most Amazing Things at Inspections! During an inspection today of a home we came across a few unusual items that I have not seen in a lot of years!!!   This home was an estate sale, where the owner was the original owner, and built the home himself.   Really quality workmanship!    The home was in need of some updating, but in nice shape. Our surprise was when we ventured down into the basement and discovered some new items.   The inspector, John Openheimer, said, "Holy mackeral!  This fellow was a cobbler!"   I was upstairs - ran down to the basement - to find him holding some shoe forms and shoe expanders.   As we looked around, it was fun to relive mentally those years long ago, when we were children, and these owners were adults.    There also were old grinders, old cl... 11/02/2011

House Price to Yearly Rent Ratio Points Way to Buying Homes. October 15th, 2011 Wall Street Journal’s article “It’s Time to Buy That House” points out two key measures that are now suggesting it’s a good time to buy a house. For long term live in or for an investment the two measurements are the house price to yearly rents ratio and the current low mortgage rates. According to Moody's Analytics, nationwide the ratio of home prices to yearly rents is 11.3, down from 18.5 at the peak of the bubble with the average from 1989 to 2003 was about 10. Even if price/rent ratios are not at their absolute low, with the 30 year mortgage rates in the low 4% that lower the total cost of the home thus making some markets looking like bargains. To read the WSJ article click here. To find current mortga... 10/27/2011

Norwalk CT Market Report  January - September 2010 vs. 2011 The real estate market in Norwalk CT has been fairly steady in its sales for the past two years.   September 2011 recap: Total home sales for the month: 49 Average Days on the Market:139 Low value of $98,100 for a cape.   High value of $2,800,000 for a colonial single family home.  Average sold price of $524,227. Median price of $355,000. Average list price was $555,129. Actual purchase price was an average of 5.6% off of the list price.             Norwalk CT real estate market is, obviously from this graph, a pretty steady market place.   Year over year, for the same time period, not much change in the pattern of sales in numbers and values at this time. 10/09/2011

Professional Women of Connecticut Networking Event - October 17th - Norwalk CT This is for all the women who work in Connecticut and would like to network with other women in CT. It's a great group of entreprenurial women who are fun and motivated.  Jamie Imperati is the founder, and she is a wonderful woman.  It was so much fun catching up with her earlier this week.  You'll love her, too. Guest Speakers: Ellie Becker and Deborah Novick Topic: How to Identify & Engage Your Best Customer Learn How To: * Identify your most profitable, most enjoyable, and easiest to attract customer. * Focus your business offerings for growth and customer appeal. * Use the latest online tools to attract and engage. * Analyze your sales and marketing activities for maximum results. $35pp includes dinner an... 10/06/2011

    NAR Green at LIVE GREEN CT! 2011. September 17th & 18th the second annual LIVE GREEN CONNECTICUT! Expo took place in Norwalk, Ct. Along with a huge number of vendors we had excellent sunny weather a great turn out of folks attending. The National Association of Realtors Green Resource Council and there NAR Green designee’s attended giving out free advice and tips on living a sustainable and healthy lifestyle. Along with handing out free Blue Spruce seeds the booth also provided links to local green businesses, websites and blogs. Below are a few additional pictures of this educational event for family, home owners and the community.                     David Popoff is a license Realtor in Connecticut with William Raveis office in Darien.   A resident of Fairfield County for over 40 ... 09/21/2011

Networking for Women in Connecticut - Professional Women of CT event 9/20 Yes, there is very successful networking group for Women in CT. So, if you are a woman owned business or a woman in business, this group will be highly beneficial.  Jamie Imperati is the founder, and their next event is next week.  I actually know this guest speaker and she is an amazing woman with a gift of teaching women how to sell and how to communicate with your target audience. Professional Women of Connecticut Networking Event Join us on September 20th Topic: Elevator Speeches that WORK: Networking to New Clients in 30 Seconds Guest Speaker: Karen Graves, Founder, Your Sales Fix In this content rich workshop you will learn: The key elements you need to create a client-magnetic elevator speech The secrets to... 09/17/2011

New Listing - A Fabulous 2 Bedroom Condo - 16 Hillside - near SoNo, Norwalk, CT 06854 A new listing near SoNo - a fantastic 2 bedroom, 1 and a half bath end unit condo in Norwalk, CT.    A sunny large living room with huge windows, a great dining area, up to date kitchen, and two large bedrooms.   This condo at 16 Hillside has a huge attic for the ultimate in storage, and an attached garage with additional laundry/ utility room make this a must see!   Walk to trendy SoNo for your evening restaurants, movies, shopping, train to NYC, etc!   New Listing - A Fabulous 2 Bedroom Condo near SoNo, Norwalk, CT 06854 09/13/2011

Norwalk, Ct. 34th Annual OYSTER FESTIVAL ~ 2011. The Norwalk Seaport Association’s Oyster Festival will take place this year for the 34th time on September9, 10, 11, 2011.The three day event attracts up to 50,000 people and raises $240,000 in funds for more than 20 local non-profit organizations. There will be musical entertainment, food tents, exhibitors, pirate’s coast adventure, New England Village and more… and of course the Oyster Pavilion. Operating since 1978, the Norwalk Seaport Assoc. is a nonprofit environmental, preservation and maritime educational organization offering a wide array of special events and community projects.   For directions, parking and free shuttle service click here. David Popoff is a license Realtor in Connecticut with William Raveis office in Darien.    ... 09/07/2011

LED Light Bulbs Now @ Costco, Save $$ On Your Electric Bill.    LED par 30 Feit bulbs now at Norwalk, Connecticut Costco for $35.99. ($39.99 at Home Depot Norwalk Phillips LED par 30).  The average life of these bulbs are 25,000 hours and compared to thirteen 65 watt incandescent bulbs (average life 2000 hours) you will save $142 in energy costs over the life of the bulb at 11 cents/ kWh. That does not include the cost of 13 bulbs to buy and replace. If you are a CL&P customer then your average kWh price is about 0.105 cents (to check rates in Connecticut click here).  But there is also a service charge and once you add that to your electric supplier’s cost the average cost come out to about 0.1702 cents/kWh which results in a life time saving on energy costs of $219 for Connecticut Res... 09/04/2011